Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Monken Hadley:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Monken Hadley, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Monken Hadley leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I would like to sublet my leasehold apartment in Monken Hadley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Monken Hadley do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Monken Hadley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Monken Hadley. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Monken Hadley who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Monken Hadley conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Monken Hadley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Monken Hadley with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Monken Hadley can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Monken Hadley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Monken Hadley.
  • A minority of Monken Hadley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Monken Hadley home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Having spent months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Monken Hadley. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Monken Hadley property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.